To Kill a Mockingbird

I came across the following passage while re-reading one of the great literary classic of our time.

Atticus Finch, while talking to his young son Jem, defends a neighbor who Jem believes is the worst person he knows.  He says the following;

"I wanted you to see what real courage is, instead of getting the idea that courage is a man with a gun in his hand (Atticus is talking about himself).  It's when you know you're licked before you begin but you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what.  You rarely win, but sometimes you do.  Mrs Dubose won, all ninety-eight pounds of her.  According to her views, she died beholden to nothing and nobody.  She was the bravest person I ever knew"

My guess would be that Harper Lee was also foretelling a tribute to Atticus who takes on the defense of a black man accused of a sex crime he did not commit.  He knew the Alabama of the 1930's will find his client guilty simply because a white man accused him.  Hopefully today the verdict would be different.